Stewart continues agonizing search for his beloved son
Stewart continues agonizing search for his beloved son
Joanne Collins, Reuters, Denpasar
David Stewart has not left a stone unturned in the agonizing search for his football player son, who was at the packed Sari Club in Bali when a bomb tore through the popular night spot 10 days ago.
The Australian truck driver has handed over his son's hair brush and toothbrush for DNA testing, a credit card for finger prints and dental records. His wife has provided a swab of cells from the inside of her cheek.
He has also poured over gruesome photographs of charred bodies and human remains in the hope of spotting anything that would lead him to identifying his 29-year-old son.
But there is still no trace of Anthony Stewart, who traveled to the resort island with his mates to celebrate his football team's grand final victory.
"He arrived here the day of the blast. He loved coming to Bali," Stewart said late on Monday.
Nearly 200 people were killed in the massive bombing but a police spokesman said only eight have been identified with absolute certainty -- two Swedes, two Britons, two Japanese, one Australian and one Dutch.
More than 90 Australians remain unaccounted for and victim identification experts say there is a growing acceptance among family and friends that the arduous process could take months.
Some might have to live with never knowing for sure.
"We could reach a situation where some remains are never identified," Australian Prime Minister John Howard told parliament on Monday.
"There would be nothing worse if somebody got body parts back and buried and they thought their son, daughter, wife or mother was somebody else," said Stewart, who confronted Howard at a news conference in Bali last week with an emotional plea for help.
"He came up and gave me a hug after that and nearly cried. I am just hoping Anthony is not one of the ones they never find. I keep saying to them here he's six foot four and had capped teeth and a shoulder reconstructed and had an expensive orange watch."
But identification experts say DNA testing has proven difficult because many of the bodies were so badly burned and dental records -- often the most reliable means of identification -- are less useful than usual because many of the victims were so young.
There has also been a lot of confusion surrounding the identification process.
In the days after the blast, local authorities posted a list of more than 40 names and nationalities on the window of a local morgue of those who had been positively identified.
But those people were identified only visually -- by a tattoo, a scar or a piece of jewelry.
That, according to international experts who have been flown in help, is not sufficient. They have again become numbers on body bags.
The process has also been complicated by the fact there are so many body parts.
Wearing his wide-brimmed bushman's hat, Stewart sits at the back of daily news conferences and attends consular briefings to keep abreast not only of the identification process, but the police investigation.
He is not critical of the forensic and identification teams who have been working tirelessly since the blast in cramped and stuffy conditions, but says by staying in Bali he can make sure his son's case is not forgotten.
"I won't let them slacken off," he said.